Consumers consult many sources of information when searching for items of interest to rent or buy, including the vast Internet: However, the majority of consumers still trust recommendations from people they know and opinions (e.g., reviews, ratings, comments, etc.) by others with common attributes (e.g., place of residence, place of vacation, group affiliations, hobbies, etc.) over all other types of information to help them make decisions with regard to high risk transactions (e.g., involving large dollar amounts). A person's social networks (e.g., networks maintained on social or professional networking websites) can be used to rapidly grow both demand and supply for the rental or sale of an item, particularly a high-priced item, by reducing the fear and hassle of dealing with strangers.
Conventional electronic commerce techniques for marketing and promotion of items for rent or sale typically include a listing of the item, e.g., on a marketing or promotion website, with information about the item. Such information may include features and photos of the item. For instance, a vacation rental listing may include information about the vacation rental property's size (e.g., bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, etc.) and location (e.g. street address, nearby landmarks, etc.). The listing may include photos of the property, inside and out. The listing may even include reviews of the property by past guests. However, these conventional techniques for marketing and promotion of items for rent or sale do not provide a direct and organized method for a user to find information about the items that are owned by, used by, rented by, reviewed by, or otherwise connected to, people in their social networks. While reviews from strangers may be helpful, they are not nearly as helpful as reviews from people users know (e.g., family members, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, etc.). These conventional techniques fail to leverage the power of a consumer's social networks, particularly social networks created and maintained on social or professional networking services and websites (hereinafter “SNS”), to more effectively market items for rent or sale.
On the other hand, SNS, including Facebook®, Twitter®, Google+®, LinkedIn®, and others, provide a venue for users to maintain their social networks and share information about items they've purchased or rented, and even post reviews. However, these services are geared primarily toward the creation and maintenance of social networks, and are not designed to provide users with the capability to search for and find trusted and vetted listings of items for sale or rent. For instance, when an SNS user posts a status update, link, picture, or tweet, indicating a purchase or rental (e.g., vacation rental), even including a review or comment about the item purchased or rented, that status update, link, picture or tweet is virtually lost as time passes and new status updates, links, pictures and tweets are posted. Later on, when another user that is in their network begins searching for a similar item to purchase or rent, it is difficult, if not impossible, to directly reference the prior post. As such, SNS do not offer owners and sellers the ability to create a standing and readily searchable referral network for items for rent or sale based upon personal data shared through SNS, nor do they provide renters and buyers a time independent method for searching for items to buy or rent using their trusted personal connections.
Thus, what is needed is a technique for marketing of items for rent or sale without the limitations of conventional techniques.